1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to swimming pool skimmers, and in particular to devices for skimming floating debris and insects from the surface of the water in a swimming pool.
2. Discussion of Background
The surface of the water of an outdoor swimming pool receives a variety of air-borne debris, such as leaves, twigs, pine straw, and insects. Periodic skimming of the debris is required not only to keep the pool surface clean and appealing but also to prevent the debris from clogging the pool's filtration equipment.
The typical skimmer comprises a bit of netting stretched across a frame mounted to the end of a long pole. The pole is used to maneuver the frame around the pool surface to pick up the debris wherever it may be floating. This process is time consuming.
Other skimmers exist that make the task of skimming debris from a pool surface somewhat easier. Sermons, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,074, discloses a skimmer that is placed near the pool outflow to skim debris as the surface water is drawn to the outflow. However, this passive approach to pool skimming also requires time to collect the debris. Burkhart and Jarrett (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,557,001 and 4,472,842, respectively) describe active, flexible devices that are maneuvered over the pool surface. However, flexible devices are difficult to remove from a pool without spilling the debris that has been gathered back into the water. Finally, Chambers describes in U.S. Pat. No. 2,367,997, a rigid frame, to which is attached a cloth and that extends from one side of the pool to the other to sweep the surface for debris and insects.
None of these devices provides effective removal of debris and insects. Pools vary in size and shape and have features such as ladders and diving boards, the dimensional variations of which must be accommodated by a pool skimmer without loss of full-width skimming for efficiency. None of the above-described devices will trap the debris effectively so that it can be removed from the pool easily and completely. There remains a need for an effective, full-width pool skimmer.